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Jews in Syria

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Yitzy Fischer

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Apr 3, 1990, 6:41:33 AM4/3/90
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>In article <H C Mann<90092.180...@BARILVM.BITNET>> F2E...@BARILVM.BITNET writes:
>From a newsletter by the Council for the Rescue of Syrian Jews:
>
>
>The Syrian Government victimizes and discriminates against its
>4000 remaining Jewish citizens who live in Damascus, Aleppo, and
>Quamishli. By modern standards of human rights and civil
>liberties, Syrian Jews are subject to insufferable
>circumstances. Unlike the more lenient emmigration laws adopted
>in surrounding Arab nations, Syrian Jews, without exception, are
>denied permission to emigrate. In fact, Syria is the only Arab
>country which since 1948 has never allowed its Jewish citizens
>the right to re-establish residence elsewhere. Syiria's
>mistreatment of its Jewish population stands in direct
>opposition to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the
>United Nations, of which Syria is a signatory.
>
>The following describes a few of the many forms of persecution
>and oppression that Jews suffer:
>
>* Jews commonly face arrest, imprisionment, and physical
> punishment without due process of law;
>
>* Free emigration is strictly prohibited;
>
>* The Jews that are permitted to leave, merely on a temporary
> basis, (in most cases only to seek medical treatment or visit
> relatives) must leave a substaintial and oftentimes
> unaffordable monetary deposit as collateral. In addition,
> all immediate family members must stay behind to further
> ensure their return;
>
>* All attempts in unsuccessful escape result in immediate
> imprisionment and torture for escapees as well as their
> families.
>
>* Since successful Jewish escapees are primarily young, single,
> men, there is a disproportionately large single female
> population, many of whom are unable to marry within their
> faith;
>
>* Certain Jews have been held incommunicado for long periods of
> time. Three such Jews are currently in jail:
> Salim Soued, 47, father of 7
> Eli Soued, 27, brother of Salim
> Jacques Lalo, 50, father of 4
>
>* Detailed personal files are held by the Muhabarat, Secret
> Police, on every Syrian Jew;
>
>* The Rabbi and President of the Jewish Community must regularly
> report on their actions to the Muhabarat;
>
>* The Syrain police engages in 24 hour surveillance of the
> Jewish ghettos;
>
>* Mail, telephone calls, and telegrams directed to Jews are
> censored and scrutinized by the Secret Police;
>
>* Jews are not allowed contact with foreigners unless
> pre-approved by the Muhabarat.
>
>* Jewish schools are supervised by Moslem directors;
>
>* Jews have no voting rights, are denied government employment
> and are subject to rigid governmental restrictions on their
> business practices;
>
>* The purchase of property must be approved by the Secret
> Police;
>
>* Property of deceased Jews, who lack surviving family members,
> is automatically turned over to the Palestinian Refugee
> Agency.
>
>
>The Syrian Jewish community has become increasingly fearful and
>isolated. It is sustained by deep-rooted religious faith and
>the confidence that it has not been abandoned by Jews in the
>free world. Despite their confined exsistence, Jews struggle
>desperately to practice their religion and to hold onto their
>self respect. It is inherent on those of us who live in freedom
>to protest on behalf of Syrain Jewry. Prisioners must be
>released, families must be reunited, and all Jews must be free
>to leave for destinations in the free world. Until then, our
>efforts must continue and our voices cry out.
>----------------------------------------------------------------
>The Council for the Rescue of Syrian Jews
>11 West 34th Street
>New York, New York


So who was the smart ass out there who claimed that jews were doing
just fine in syria and the rest of the arab world?

Yitzy
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Ibrahim Mustafa

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Apr 5, 1990, 12:36:39 PM4/5/90
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Regardless of how much of what you said is accurate,
I deeply sympathize with you. But why is it only Jews
that are more important than any body else on the face
of this earth. If you really care for the freedom of
human beeings you can do alot yourself right where you
are (in Israel). You can fight your government to ease
their brutal policy against the total populations of the
Palestinians. If you start arguing that the Israeli
government is not inhumane in its policy towards the
Palestinians, then someone also could claim that Jews in
Syria are treated fairly.
--


------- Ibrahim

samuel.saal

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Apr 8, 1990, 10:37:55 AM4/8/90
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> ------- Ibrahim

These Arabists' arguments are tiresomely simple to refute.

Let's start with one simple comparison, the right to safe
emigration. For completeness, safe emigration means not only
that the person doesn't have to sneak out, but that once out
remaining family and friends don't have to fear persecution or
reprisal.

The "Palestinians" in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza have it. The
Jews in Syria don't.

I'd be perfectly willing to see a complete population trade. You
(and I don't mean Ibrahim personally, of course) give us the Jews
stuck in Syria, Ethiopia, Yemen, Russia, and whatever other Arab
countries, and you can _have_ the Arabs from Israel, the West
Bank, and Gaza.

Meanwhile, I'd much rather be a troublemaking Arab under Israel's
domination than any Jew under Arab. (and, no, not all Arabs
are troublemakers)
--
Sam Saal ...!{att}!floyd!saal
Vayiphtach HaShem et Peah HaAtone

Joachim Martillo

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Apr 7, 1990, 9:57:16 PM4/7/90
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> ------- Ibrahim

The usual Muslim inability to make ethical distinctions.
Palestinian Muslims and their Christian pets who do not
like conditions on the West Bank are free to leave. Syrian
Jews are not free to leave. Israel generally respects the
property rights of individual non-Jews. Syria does not generally
respect the property rights of individual non-Muslims. Jadid
(a predecessor of Asad) took property from my family and expected
some of my family members to kiss his ass in gratitude). Syrian
Jews are not adherents of a political/social/cultural system
which seems at war with the modern world and which rejects fundamental
concepts of natural rights and enlightenment. Palestinian Muslims
are adherents of a basically disgusting political/social/cultural
system which constitutes a crime against humanity. The Christian
pets of Palestinian Muslims are active co-conspirators. Syrian
Jews do not have a millenium long history of oppression and
acts of violence against Muslims. Palestinian Muslims have
a millenium long history of oppression and acts of violence
against non-Muslims. The Christian pets of Palestinian Muslims
have a history of inciting Muslims to acts of violence. Palestinian
Muslims attempted to drive Jews off of land which the Jews legitimately
purchased (from Palestinian Muslims) before Israeli independence.
Syrian Jews have never tried to run such a disgusting land-scam
against Muslims.

In practically every way, Palestinians are a thoroughly dispicable
community whose bigotry and fanaticism prevents them from joining
the modern world and who deserve much worse punishment than they
are receiving (apparently mostly at their own hands -- poetic
justice or the cunning of history, if I have ever seen it).

Syrian Jews have committed neither communal nor individual crimes
on the scale of the Palestinians. And in any case Mustafa whishes
to punish the Syrian Jewish community for the acts of other Jews
elsewhere. Such thinking is the hallmark of a bigoted, primitive
disgusting mentality which is a major contributory factor in
the backwardness, primitiveness, savageary and powerlessness of
Muslim nations vis-a-vis the West.

Joachim Carlo Santos Martillo Ajami

Joachim Martillo

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Apr 8, 1990, 11:21:46 AM4/8/90
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In article <53...@ucrmath.UCR.EDU>, ba...@x.ucr.edu (john baez) writes:

> In article <59...@jjmhome.UUCP> mart...@jjmhome.UUCP (Joachim Martillo) writes:

> >In practically every way, Palestinians are a thoroughly dispicable
> >community whose bigotry and fanaticism prevents them from joining
> >the modern world and who deserve much worse punishment than they
> >are receiving (apparently mostly at their own hands -- poetic
> >justice or the cunning of history, if I have ever seen it).

> Must you rave so??? Methinks you'd be more convincing if
> you simply stated some facts instead of going on about how
> "in practically every way, they're thoroughly despicable and
> yucky, and they deserve to be drawn and quartered, burnt alive
> and then chopped into teeny-weeny pieces.... etc...."

Being mostly of 3rd world background, I find the willingness of
1st-worlders to ignore or gloss over the responsibility of
3rd worlders in the creation of 3rd world problems totally
obnoxious and vile. Adults must bear the responsibility for
their actions. 1st worlders in their racism treat 3rd worlders
as less responsible than children. I am sorry. The Europeans
left a long time ago. The Arab world, Africa and India are
a mess because of decisions for which Arabs, Africans and Indians
must take full responsibility. If they do not, they are not
ready to run their own countries but should be recolonized.

I have read the major
Zionist documents from the teens and twenties. The Zionists
at the beginning were very confused about their goals. The
Zionists had been extremely unsuccessful in marketing their
ideas to the world Jewish community. In fact the main Zionist
success lay in attracting Muslims to Palestine. The Zionists
at this point would probably have been content for Palestine
to remain part of the British empire with a Muslim majority
for the next 100 years. But no, the Muslims had to have it
all. They had to drive out the British, they had to drive out
the Jews. Of course, the Zionists looked for quick national
consolidation. Of course Zionism became the dominant ideology
among the Jewish community, the Muslims developed a much
more effective marketing technique than the Zionists ever did.
Palestinian Muslims are the only would-be national group which
was so stupid as to consolidate the nation-state of people
whom the Muslims themselves made into enemies.

> > Such thinking is the hallmark of a bigoted, primitive
> >disgusting mentality which is a major contributory factor in
> >the backwardness, primitiveness, savageary and powerlessness of
> >Muslim nations vis-a-vis the West.

> Let me improve this one for you, in case anyone failed to
> get your point:

> Such thinking is the hallmark of a bigoted, primitive

> disgusting lousy terrible bad mentality which is a major

> contributory factor in the backwardness, primitiveness,

> savagery, foulness, ickiness, grossness, stupidness and

> powerlessness of Muslim nations vis-a-vis the West.

Any modern person should be extremely offended by Ibrahim
Mustafa's comment. If there were oppression of Sicilian-Americans
in Missoula, we should not care because there are mafiusi in
Sicily who do bad things. We should fire all the Jews on Wall Street,
because Boesky did insider trading. That is Ibrahim Mustafa's sick
logic. All members of the Jewish community because some Jew somewhere
may have done something bad. That is the logic of classical anti-Semitism
and brain-dead xenophobia.

Yitzy Fischer

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Apr 18, 1990, 11:19:27 AM4/18/90
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In article <IMUSTAFA.90Apr5113639@darwish.?> imustafa@darwish.? (Ibrahim Mustafa) writes:
>


Ibrahim, regardless of what is done in Israel the Jews are not treated
the way they should be in Syria. Regardless of who I vote for things
there must be changed. You are simply disagreeing with what my mother
taught me as a little kid. She said "two wrongs DO NOT make a right".
I guess you disagree.

Ibrahim Mustafa

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Apr 23, 1990, 6:18:45 AM4/23/90
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> You are simply disagreeing with what my mother
> taught me as a little kid. She said "two wrongs DO NOT make a right".
> I guess you disagree.

It seems to me that you did not learn your grandmother's
teachings well. If you think the Jews should be treated
nicely and equally, then you should also treat other
people nicely and equally. When the whole world was treating
the Jews badly, you turned your back and applied the bad
experience on the Palestinians. Now, apply your grandmother's
teachings to this logic and see if it works.

I never said: because Palestinians are not treated nicely in
the occupied terriotories therefore, Jews should be treated
badly in Syria, or in any part of the world. I support peace
and free life for all the people regardless of their background.
--


------- Ibrahim

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